Controller and control system

ABSTRACT

A controller acquires biometric information of a worker and environmental information related to work environment and determines a safety level of the worker in a plurality of steps according to a safety level determination condition stored in advance on the basis of the acquired biometric information and environmental information. Then, the controller continuously controls an operation of an industrial machine in a state of a predetermined restriction being applied to a driving unit of the industrial machine and in a state of a predetermined safety function being activated on the basis of the determined safety level.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent ApplicationNumber 2019-189438 filed on Oct. 16, 2019, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The application relates to a controller and a control system.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many industrial machines are installed at manufacturing sites such asfactories. At the manufacturing sites, workers perform manufacturingwork by manipulating respective industrial machines. There is known atechnique in which an ID or the like is assigned to the worker andauthentication is performed during the work for the purpose of managingthe work of the workers at the manufacturing sites (refer to JP2012-212349 A, or the like).

In the management of the worker at the manufacturing site, a physicalcondition of the worker is managed, and in a case where the physicalcondition is poor, the work performed by the worker may be restricted.For example, there is known a system that monitors biometric informationof the worker and safely stops an industrial machine in a case where aphysical abnormality is recognized (refer to JP 2018-038604 A, or thelike).

In an actual work at the manufacturing sites, there is a risk of causingan erroneous manipulation due to a change in physical condition of theworker. Furthermore, a degree of the attention and concentration of theworker is reduced depending on environmental conditions such as atemperature, and there is a possibility of an erroneous manipulationassociated with the reduction of the degree of the attention andconcentration. Therefore, a state of the worker and an environmentalstate are also taken into consideration during actually working of theworker, in a case where a danger is expected, the work is restricted.

At the manufacturing sites, if an operation of the industrial machine isstopped in order to impose a restriction on the work, the productionefficiency of a product will be suddenly decreased. If the productionefficiency of the product is suddenly decreased, not only the work incharge but all related work will be affected, and thus, it does notintend to stop the operation of the industrial machine. On the otherhand, in some cases, depending on the state of the worker and theenvironmental state, the work may not be stopped and may be continuedwhile considering the safety. In view of these situations, it ispreferable to continuously produce the product and to ensure the safetyof the work of the worker while taking into consideration the state ofthe worker and the environmental state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the risk of manipulation error andaccident occurrence from a machine side while monitoring a state of aworker and an environmental state.

A controller and a control system according to an aspect of theapplication monitor a state of a worker and an environmental state anddetermine a safety level of the worker according to contents ofmonitoring. Then, partial work restriction on work of the worker andactivation of the safety function are controlled according to thedetermined safety level.

According to an aspect of the application, there is provided acontroller controlling an industrial machine, the controller including:a biometric information acquisition unit acquiring biometric informationof a worker; an environmental information acquisition unit acquiringenvironmental information related to work environment of the worker; adetermination condition storage unit storing a safety leveldetermination condition as a condition for determining a safety level ofthe worker in a plurality of steps on the basis of the biometricinformation and the environmental information; a safety leveldetermination unit determining the safety level of the worker accordingto the safety level determination condition stored in the determinationcondition storage unit on the basis of the biometric informationacquired by the biometric information acquisition unit and theenvironmental information acquired by the environmental informationacquisition unit; a drive restriction unit continuing the operation ofthe industrial machine in a state of a predetermined restriction beingapplied to a driving unit of the industrial machine on the basis of thesafety level determined by the safety level determination unit; and asafety function activation unit continuing the operation of theindustrial machine in a state of a predetermined safety function beingactivated on the basis of the safety level determined by the safetylevel determination unit.

According to another aspect of the application, there is provided acontrol system configured by connecting a controller controlling anindustrial machine and a computer via a network, the control systemcomprising: a biometric information acquisition unit acquiring biometricinformation of a worker; an environmental information acquisition unitacquiring environmental information related to work environment of theworker; a determination condition storage unit storing a safety leveldetermination condition as a condition for determining a safety level ofthe worker on the basis of the biometric information and theenvironmental information; a safety level determination unit determiningthe safety level of the worker according to the safety leveldetermination condition stored in the determination condition storageunit on the basis of the biometric information acquired by the biometricinformation acquisition unit and the environmental information acquiredby the environmental information acquisition unit; a drive restrictionunit continuing the operation of the industrial machine in a state of apredetermined restriction being applied to a driving unit of theindustrial machine on the basis of the safety level determined by thesafety level determination unit; and a safety function activation unitcontinuing the operation of the industrial machine in a state of apredetermined safety function being activated on the basis of the safetylevel determined by the safety level determination unit.

According to an aspect of the application, work can be continued withoutsuddenly lowering the production efficiency of the industrial machineand with actively reducing the risk of manipulation error or accidentoccurrence.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the application will beapparent from the following description of embodiments with reference tothe accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of a controlleraccording to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of thecontroller according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of ameasurement unit;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of anauthentication unit;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of worker information;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of adetermination unit;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of safety leveldetermination conditions;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of a controlunit;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a drive restriction andsafety function being activated according to a safety level; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of a controlsystem according to a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to thedrawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram illustrating mainunits of a controller according to a first embodiment. The controller 1can be mounted on, for example, a controller that controls an industrialmachine.

A CPU 11 included in the controller 1 according to the embodiment is aprocessor that controls the controller 1 as a whole. The CPU 11 readsout a system program stored in a ROM 12 via a bus 20. The CPU 11controls the entire controller 1 according to the read system program.Calculation data, display data, various data input from the outside, andthe like are temporarily stored in a RAM 13.

A non-volatile memory 14 is configured with, for example, a memorybacked up by a battery (not illustrated), a solid state drive (SSD), orthe like. The non-volatile memory 14 retains a storage state even thoughthe controller 1 is powered off. The non-volatile memory 14 stores acontrol program input via an input device 71, data acquired from anindustrial machine 2 or the like via an interface 19, data acquired froma sensor 3 via an interface 16, and the like. The control program andvarious data stored in the non-volatile memory 14 may be loaded in theRAM 13 at the time of execution/use. In addition, various systemprograms such as a known analysis program are written in the ROM 12 inadvance.

Each data read on the memory, data obtained as a result of execution ofa program, or the like, data acquired from the industrial machine, orthe like are output via an interface 17 and displayed on a displaydevice 70. The input device 71 including a keyboard, a pointing device,and the like receives a command, data, and the like on the basis of amanipulation by a worker and transfers the command and data to the CPU11 via an interface 18.

The controller 1 is connected to the industrial machine 2 via theinterface 19. The controller 1 drives a driving unit such as a motorincluded in the industrial machine 2 according to the control program tocontrol the position, speed, and the like of a shaft included in theindustrial machine 2. In addition, the controller 1 acquires theposition, speed, acceleration of the shaft included in the industrialmachine 2, the current value and voltage value of a driving unit such asa motor included in the industrial machine 2, and the detection valueand the like detected by a sensor (not illustrated) installed in theindustrial machine 2. The controller 1 can store the acquired data inthe RAM 13 or the non-volatile memory 14 in association with the timepoint and the like.

The controller 1 is connected to one or a plurality of the sensors 3 viathe interface 16. The sensor 3 is installed, for example, in thevicinity of the controller 1 and the industrial machine 2 and detectsbiometric information of the worker who is working by using thecontroller 1 and the industrial machine 2. The sensor 3 may detect thebiometric information of the worker 5 at the work site from the outside.For example, if the work site is imaged by using thermography as thesensor 3, the body temperature of the worker 5 can be detected. Thecomplexion and behavior (change in movement, shaking of hands, or thelike) of the worker 5 may be allowed to be detected by using an imagingdevice of a camera or the like as the sensor 3. In addition, the sensor3 may be attached to the worker to detect the biometric information ofthe worker. In a case where such a configuration is employed, theinterface 16 is configured as, for example, a short-range wirelesscommunication interface. Then, the worker 5 wears a blood pressuremeter, a heart rate monitor, a blood oxygen concentration meter, or thelike as the sensor 3 and carries a short-range wireless terminalconnected to the sensor 3. When the worker 5 enters the work site, theshort-range wireless terminal carried by the worker 5 enters a wirelesscommunication state with the short-range wireless communicationinterface as the interface 16, so that the CPU 11 can acquire thebiometric information of the worker detected by the sensor 3. Inaddition, the sensor 3 may detect environmental information such astemperature and humidity, for example, in the vicinity of the controller1 and the industrial machine 2. The controller 1 can store the dataacquired from the sensor 3 in the non-volatile memory 14 in associationwith the time point and the like.

The controller 1 is connected to an authentication device 4 via theinterface 15. The controller 1 authenticates the worker who is using theindustrial machine 2 on the basis of the information for identifying theworker acquired via the authentication device 4. The authenticationdevice 4 may be, for example, an IC card reader that authenticates theworker with an IC card carried by the worker or a sensor device thatdetects an ID badge or an identification code worn by the worker. Inaddition, the authentication device 4 may be a fingerprintauthentication device, an iris authentication device, or the like thatauthenticates the worker on the basis of biometric information such as afingerprint or iris of the worker. The controller 1 can store theacquired authentication information of the worker in the non-volatilememory 14 in association with the time point and the like. In addition,the authentication device 4 is not necessarily provided in the case ofusing a configuration in which the worker is authenticated by allowingthe worker to input identification information by using the displaydevice 70 and the input device 71. In a case where such a configurationis employed, the display device 70 and the input device 71 play the roleof the authentication device 4.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of thecontroller 1 according to the first embodiment. Each functionillustrated in FIG. 2 is realized by the CPU 11 included in thecontroller 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 executing the system program andcontrolling the operation of each unit of the controller 1.

The controller 1 according to the embodiment includes a measurement unit110, an authentication unit 130, a determination unit 150, and a controlunit 170.

The measurement unit 110 executes the system program read from the ROM12 by the CPU 11 included in the controller 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 andmainly performs arithmetic processing using the RAM 13 and thenon-volatile memory 14, input/output processing using the interface 16,and the like by the CPU 11. The measurement unit 110 measures thebiometric information of the worker measured by the sensor 3.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of themeasurement unit 110 according to the embodiment. The measurement unit110 includes a biometric information acquisition unit 112 and anenvironmental information acquisition unit 114. The biometricinformation acquisition unit 112 acquires the biometric information ofthe worker 5 measured by the sensor 3 and outputs the biometricinformation to the determination unit 150. It is preferable that thebiometric information of the worker 5 acquired by the biometricinformation acquisition unit 112 can be used for estimating the physicalcondition of the worker 5, such as a body temperature, a blood pressure,a heart rate, a respiration rate, a blood oxygen concentration, andcomplexion of the worker 5.

The environmental information acquisition unit 114 acquiresenvironmental information related to the work environment of the worker5 measured by the sensor 3 and outputs the environmental information tothe determination unit 150. It is preferable that the environmentalinformation acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit114 is assumed to affect the physical condition of the worker 5, such asthe temperature and humidity of the work environment, the oxygen andcarbon dioxide components in the air, and the concentration of cuttingfluid mist.

The authentication unit 130 executes the system program read from theROM 12 by the CPU 11 included in the controller 1 illustrated in FIG. 1and mainly performs arithmetic processing using the RAM 13 and thenon-volatile memory 14, input/output processing using the interface 15,and the like by the CPU 11. The authentication unit 130 controls theauthentication device 4 to authenticate the worker.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of theauthentication unit 130 according to the embodiment. The authenticationunit 130 includes a worker identification unit 132, a worker informationacquisition unit 134, and a worker information storage unit 138.

The worker identification unit 132 acquires information (workeridentification information) required for identifying the worker via theauthentication device 4. It is preferable that the worker identificationinformation acquired by the worker identification unit 132 isinformation that can uniquely identify the worker 5 who performs work atthe manufacturing site. As an example, the worker identificationinformation may be an ID of an IC card carried by the worker 5 and usedfor authentication. As another example, the worker identificationinformation may be information indicating a physical characteristic ofthe worker 5, such as a fingerprint or an iris. In addition, the workeridentification information may be an ID input from the input device 71that operates as the authentication device 4. The worker identificationunit 132 outputs the worker identification information acquired from theauthentication device 4 to the worker information acquisition unit 134.

The worker information acquisition unit 134 reads the worker informationstored in the worker information storage unit 138 on the basis of theworker identification information input from the worker identificationunit 132 and outputs the worker information to the determination unit150. The worker information storage unit 138 stores the workerinformation about a plurality of the workers 5 who perform work at themanufacturing site in advance.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the worker informationstored in the worker information storage unit 138. The workerinformation is defined as information used for managing the workerassociated with the worker identification information. The workerinformation may include, for example, the name, employee number, and thelike of worker. The worker information may be associated with the age,gender, and other attributes of worker. The worker information mayinclude manipulation availability information including a managementauthority, a driving authority, a parameter changing authority, and thelike of the worker related to the industrial machine 2 controlled by thecontroller 1.

The determination unit 150 executes the system program read from the ROM12 by the CPU 11 included in the controller 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 andmainly performs arithmetic processing using the RAM 13 and thenon-volatile memory 14 by the CPU 11. The determination unit 150determines a safety level of the worker on the basis of the workerinformation of the worker authenticated by the authentication unit 130and the biometric information and the environmental information of theworker measured by the measurement unit 110.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of thedetermination unit 150 according to the embodiment. The determinationunit 150 includes a measurement information storage unit 152, a workerinformation storage unit 154, a determination condition storage unit156, and a safety level determination unit 158.

The measurement information storage unit 152 stores the biometricinformation of the worker 5 input from the measurement unit 110. Eachpiece of the biometric information of the worker 5 and each piece of theenvironmental information stored in the measurement information storageunit 152 are recorded so that each piece of information at least at thesame or near time point can be referred to in association with eachother.

The worker information storage unit 154 stores the worker information ofthe worker 5 input from the authentication unit 130. The workerinformation of the worker 5 stored in the worker information storageunit 154 is stored in association with at least the time point when theworker 5 is authenticated.

The determination condition storage unit 156 stores determinationconditions for determining the safety level of the worker. FIG. 7 is adiagram illustrating an example of a safety level determinationcondition. The safety level determination condition may be, for example,a stepwise range and a safety level associated with each piece ofbiometric information and each piece of environmental information. Inaddition, the safety level determination condition may be, for example,a safety level associated with a determination by a conditionalexpression that combines a plurality of pieces of biometric informationor environmental information in a complex manner (for example, a safetylevel 2 may be set in a case where a body temperature is 37° C. or moreand less than 37.5° C. and a temperature is 32° C. or more). As thesafety level determination condition, different conditions may be setfor each attribute of the worker. For example, different safety leveldetermination conditions may be prepared for each predetermined agerange. In addition, as the safety level determination condition,different conditions may be set for each worker.

The safety level determination unit 158 determines the current safetylevel on the basis of the biometric information of the worker 5 and theenvironmental information stored in the measurement information storageunit 152, the worker information stored in the worker informationstorage unit 154, and the safety level determination condition stored inthe determination condition storage unit 156 and outputs the currentsafety level to the control unit 170. The safety level determinationunit 158 may determine the current safety level by applying at least thelatest biometric information and environmental information stored in themeasurement information storage unit 152 to the safety leveldetermination condition stored in the determination condition storageunit 156. In a case where the safety level determination conditionstored in the determination condition storage unit 156 is set for eachworker attribute, the safety level determination unit 158 acquires theattribute of the worker 5 by referring to the current worker informationof the worker 5 stored in the worker information storage unit 154 anddetermines the safety level by using the safety level determinationcondition applied to the attribute.

The safety level determination unit 158 may be allowed to determine thesafety level every predetermined period. The safety level determinationunit 158 stores the determination result of the safety level for apredetermined time interval, and even in a case where the safety levelincreases as a result of the determination based on the safety leveldetermination condition, the safety level may not be determined to haveincreased until a predetermined safety grace period T_(g) has elapsedafter the decrease of the safety level. This is intended to prevent thework restriction from being released easily in a case where thesituation seems to be improved due to the temporary change of thebiometric information and the environmental information for some reason.

The control unit 170 is realized by executing the system program readfrom the ROM 12 by the CPU 11 included in the controller 1 illustratedin FIG. 1 and mainly allowing the CPU 11 to perform the arithmeticprocessing using the RAM 13 and the non-volatile memory 14, theinput/output processing using the interfaces 17 and 18, the controlprocessing using the interface 19, and the like. The control unit 170controls the industrial machine 2 which is restricted on the basis ofthe determined safety level.

The control unit 170 includes a drive restriction unit 171, a safetyfunction activation unit 172, a machine control unit 174, a manipulationinput unit 176, and a display unit 178.

The drive restriction unit 171 first imposes a restriction on theoperation of the industrial machine 2 according to the safety leveldetermined by the safety level determination unit 158. Then, the driverestriction unit 171 instructs the machine control unit 174 to performcontrol of the operation of the industrial machine 2 on the basis of thecontrol program stored in the memory and the manipulation by the worker5 input from the input device 71 such as a manipulation panel. Themanipulation input from the input device 71 by the worker 5 may beallowed to be input to the drive restriction unit 171 by themanipulation input unit 176. The restriction imposed on the operation ofthe industrial machine 2 by the drive restriction unit 171 differsdepending on the type of the industrial machine 2. For example, in acase were the industrial machine 2 is a machine tool or a robot thatprocesses a workpiece by relatively moving the tool and the workpiece,the drive restriction unit 171 may be allowed to restrict the movingspeed of the shaft by reducing an override value according to the safetylevel. By imposing such a restriction, even in a case where the worker 5generates heat and cannot concentrate, the industrial machine 2 isallowed to operate slowly according to the state, so that the operationof the industrial machine 2 cannot be uncontrollable and dangerous. Forexample, the drive restriction unit 171 may be allowed to restrict themovable range according to the safety level in a case where theindustrial machine 2 is a robot. By imposing such a restriction, even ina case where the worker 5 is swaying his/her feet, an operation range ofthe industrial machine 2 is restricted in accordance with the state. Forthis reason, there is no danger that the industrial machine 2 hits theworker 5 and becomes dangerous. The drive restriction by the driverestriction unit 171 may be displayed on the display device 70 by thedisplay unit 178.

The safety function activation unit 172 first imposes a restriction onthe operation of the industrial machine 2 by activating the safetyfunction according to the safety level determined by the safety leveldetermination unit 158. Then, the safety function activation unit 172instructs the machine control unit 174 to perform control of theoperation of the industrial machine 2 on the basis of a control program200 and the manipulation by the worker 5 input from the input device 71such as a manipulation panel. The manipulation input from the inputdevice 71 by the worker 5 may be allowed to be input to the driverestriction unit 171 by the manipulation input unit 176. The type ofsafety function activated by the safety function activation unit 172differs depending on the type of the industrial machine 2. For example,in a case where the industrial machine 2 is a machine tool or a robotthat processes a workpiece by relatively moving the tool and theworkpiece, the safety function activation unit 172 may be allowed toactivate the safety function of monitoring the operation speed of themachine tool or the robot and raising an alert according to the safetylevel. For example, in a case where the industrial machine 2 is a robot,the safety function activation unit 172 may allowed to activate thesafety function of monitoring a movable position of the robot andraising an alert according to the safety level. The activation of thesafety function by the safety function activation unit 172 may beallowed to be displayed on the display device 70 by the display unit178.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the restriction according to the safetylevel by the drive restriction unit 171 and the safety functionactivation unit 172. As illustrated in FIG. 9 , the drive restrictionunit 171 and the safety function activation unit 172 may be configuredto change the restriction stepwise according to the safety leveldetermined by the safety level determination unit 158. In a case wherethe predetermined safety level is determined, the drive restriction unit171 and the safety function activation unit 172 instructs the machinecontrol unit 174 to control the operation of the industrial machine 2 ina state where a predetermined drive restriction and the activation ofthe safety function are performed without stopping the operation of theindustrial machine 2. In a case where the safety level in the normalstate is determined, the drive restriction unit 171 and the safetyfunction activation unit 172 may be allowed not to restrict the drive,and furthermore, to stop the safety function. In addition, the driverestriction unit 171 and the safety function activation unit 172 may beallowed to perform the drive restriction such as stopping the operationof the industrial machine 2 and the activation of the safety functiononly in a case where the safety level in the most dangerous state isdetermined.

The machine control unit 174 controls the operation of the industrialmachine 2. The machine control unit 174 has a function of controlling ageneral industrial machine 2. For example, the machine control unit 174controls the movement amount of each motor of the industrial machine 2on the basis of the movement instruction to the motors provided in theindustrial machine 2. In addition, the machine control unit 174 performscontrol of peripheral devices included in the industrial machine 2.

The controller 1 according to the embodiment having the above-describedconfiguration determines the safety level according to the currentsituation of the worker 5 on the basis of the biometric information ofthe worker 5 and the environmental information. Then, while performingthe drive restriction of the industrial machine 2 and the activation ofthe safety function on the basis of the determined safety level, thecontroller performs control of the industrial machine 2.

By using the controller 1 according to the embodiment, even in a casewhere the situation of the worker 5 deteriorates, if the work can becontinued by restricting the operation of the industrial machine 2, thework can be continued within the range of the restriction. For thisreason, it is possible to continue the work without suddenly reducingthe production efficiency and with actively reducing the risk ofmanipulation error or accident occurrence.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic function of acontrol system 300 according to a second embodiment. In the controlsystem 300 according to the embodiment, the worker information storageunit 138 and the determination unit 150 included in the controller 1described in the first embodiment are provided on a computer 7 such as afog computer or a cloud server. Then, the control system 300 isconfigured by connecting the computer 7, a measurement unit 110, anauthentication unit 130′ (which does not include the worker informationstorage unit 138), and a controller 1′ including a control unit 170 viaa wired/wireless network 6. Data exchange is performed between eachfunction of the controller 1′ and the worker information storage unit138 and the determination unit 150 included in the computer 7 via thenetwork 6.

The control system 300 according to the embodiment can share the workerinformation stored in the worker information storage unit 138 and thedetermination unit 150 among the plurality of controllers 1′. For thisreason, the memory capacity of each controller 1′ can be reduced. Inaddition, since the computer 7 has only to be changed when modifying theworker information, the safety level determination conditions, and thelike, maintenance costs can be suppressed.

Although the embodiments have been described above, the application isnot limited to only the examples of the above-described embodiments andcan be implemented in various modes by making appropriate changes.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A control system configured by connecting acontroller controlling an industrial machine and a computer via anetwork, the control system comprising: a biometric informationacquisition unit acquiring biometric information of a worker; anenvironmental information acquisition unit acquiring environmentalinformation related to a work environment of the worker; a determinationcondition storage unit storing a safety level determination condition asa condition for determining a safety level of the worker on a basis ofthe biometric information and the environmental information and beingset according to an attribute of the worker that uniquely identifies theworker; a safety level determination unit determining the safety levelof the worker based on the biometric information of the worker, theenvironmental information, authentication information of the user, andthe safety level determination condition stored in the determinationcondition storage unit; a drive restriction unit continuing an operationof the industrial machine in a state of a predetermined restrictionbeing applied to a driving unit of the industrial machine on the basisof the safety level determined by the safety level determination unit;and a safety function activation unit continuing the operation of theindustrial machine in a state of a predetermined safety function beingactivated on the basis of the safety level determined by the safetylevel determination unit, wherein the predetermined safety functionmonitors either of an operation speed and a movable position of theindustrial machine and provides an instruction for the controllercontrolling the operation to correspond to the determined safety levelof the worker.
 2. A controller controlling an industrial machine, thecontroller comprising: a biometric information acquisition unitacquiring biometric information of a worker; an environmentalinformation acquisition unit acquiring environmental information relatedto a work environment of the worker; a determination condition storageunit storing a safety level determination condition as a condition fordetermining a safety level of the worker on a basis of the biometricinformation and the environmental information and being set according toan attribute of the worker that uniquely identifies the worker; a safetylevel determination unit determining the safety level of the workerbased on the biometric information of the worker, the environmentalinformation, authentication information of the user, and the safetylevel determination condition stored in the determination conditionstorage unit; a drive restriction unit continuing an operation of theindustrial machine in a state of a predetermined restriction beingapplied to a driving unit of the industrial machine on the basis of thesafety level determined by the safety level determination unit; and asafety function activation unit continuing the operation of theindustrial machine in a state of a predetermined safety function beingactivated on the basis of the safety level determined by the safetylevel determination unit, wherein the predetermined safety functionmonitors either of an operation speed and a movable position of theindustrial machine and provides an instruction for the controlling theoperation to correspond to the determined safety level of the worker. 3.The controller according to claim 2, further comprising a workeridentification unit acquiring the worker identification information ofthe worker, wherein the safety level determination condition is set foreach of the identified workers.